


please consider

by galaxyeyedrops



Category: The Caligula Effect (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, overdose spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-05-14 18:53:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14775260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxyeyedrops/pseuds/galaxyeyedrops
Summary: The desire for approval is an intrinsic human trait, completely natural. Though, Ritsu has to admit, sometimes there are limits.(Based on Overdose canon.)





	please consider

**Author's Note:**

> a quick shitpost bc i wanted to get something out, formatting messy bc mobile sorry

Mobius, as Shogo described it, was a nightmare. A bland, ever-repeating, nightmare.

And while Ritsu would disagree on some points— _umm real life is the real nightmare actually? Mobius wouldn't work as well if it didn't loop?—_ he has to give a point for the bland thing.

Which in itself wasn't bad. Before the whole awakening event, things had been pretty simple.

Wake up. Go to School. Hang out with friends. Spend time with family. Sleep. Rinse and repeat.

And you know what? That was alright. He didn't need firearms and supernatural powers to be content. He just needed everything out there—the fits, the pills, the anxiety—all gone. And Mobius did that just fine.

A bit of dullness came with the territory. Maybe it wouldn't sell as a story, people tended to like drama and murder, but as an experience? It was more than enough. Happiness was found in tiny simple things, little moments and emotions that one could treasure far more than the lucrative dreams ( _lies lies lies, all lies_ ) that the real world had to offer.

So what if it was bland? The pills, the ones his parents worked day in and out to pay for, were no miracle cure. It was something he'd have to live with, his psychiatrist said, improving his habits bit by bit. _Baby steps_.

Mobius was that miracle cure. And with its blandless came its own type of opportunity. Mobius was in its own way, a control group. Eliminate all extraneous variables, put the world in a passive state, and you could see the truth—or at least a version of it.

In the Mobius, Ritsu had friends. In the Mobius, Ritsu had allies. In the Mobius, Ritsu dropped the hottest single ever.

Two weeks ago, Thorn had appeared to him under a bridge, with an offer. _Join us_ , she said, _see things from our side and you'll_ _never have to be afraid again._ He took her hand and didn't look back.

As soon as they got him all suited up in his ideal form—black clothes, skull head, invisible body; sounded about right—he was directed to the sound production equipment. The title of _Musicians_ wasn't for show, after all.

And thanks to the whole passivity thing, when something blew up, it blew up _big_.

Suicide Prototype was the talk of the week, every student he ran into was going on about it and it's mysterious producer, Lucid. And overall, reactions were pretty positive.

That is, with one major exception. The Go Home Club.

And that was the problem wasn't it? The club's issue was with Lucid and his allegiance to μ, the song itself had nothing to do with that. Unfortunately, that exact group just so happened to be Ritsu's friends (admittedly he, himself, is a pretty shitty friend but they don't know that, so whatever). And because they're his friends, his basic human need for validation multiplies around them, going from _wow it would be nice if someone listened to it_ to _TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF MY SONG_.

And so, he tries bringing it up. Subtly, of course.

“So,” he says one day, exceedingly casual. “What do you think of Lucid?”

Shogo lifts a brow. “The new musician?”

“Yeah,” Ritsu says, scratching his cheek in faux embarrassment. “Since I got lost in the fray and all, I didn't get a good look at the guy.”

“They're an asshole.” Ayana’s voice is sharp—carries across the room easily. Her injuries have since healed but she clutches her arm against her chest all the same. “Lucid fought brutally, more than any of the others. It was all full force from the beginning.”

Next to her, Mifune nods in affirmation.

Ritsu suppresses a wince. He didn't really have much of a choice when it came to that fight. He had to finish it quick, lest any of them recognize him.

“Hmm,” he says instead, stroking his chin and going for that whole intellectual club president vibe. He turns to Kensuke. “What about the song? I don't remember much of it.”

Kensuke opens his mouth—Ritsu heart thuds—but then shuts it, leaving the other hanging. He follows it off with a shrug. “Nothing much.”

“Nothing?”

Kotono takes over. “From the lyrics, we can tell that they're afraid, but given how Mobius is, it's not exactly something rare.” She purses her lips. “The only thing I can say for sure is that Lucid is clearly a….”

She pauses for a second and Ritsu's mind starts filling in the blanks. A what? A talented composer? A traitor from the club? A _what_?

“A teenager,” she finishes.

Ritsu raises a brow. He's not the only one. Many brows are raised. Solidarity is nice, he thinks.

“A teenager in reality.” Kotono corrects, with no small amount of exasperation. “Or at least, fairly young. They're really edgy.”

Ritsu eyes Shogo out of the corner of his vision but decides not to comment.

“I can see that,” his target says, oblivious to the contradiction. “The sounds used would back that up as well.”

“Oh?” Ritsu asks, back to fishing. “You mean the dubstep bits? It was pretty heavy on the wobbles.”

_Disagree_ , he begs in his mind. _Say_ _it's good. Or at least creative._

Instead, everyone stares at him. Some shocked, others unreadable. Solidarity is suddenly not so nice.

Aria is the first to speak.

“Ritsu?” Her voice is hesitant— _what are they thinking what is he missing—_ ”You said you didn't remember the song?”

_Oh._

_Oh shit._

“I heard about it from a friend!” He tries for calm but the words rush out like a bullet train. “Everyone was talking about it, I mean I asked! As the President, I was naturally curious so I asked.…” A breath. They don't look convinced, but he can't stop talking. “ _So_ I asked, wondering how it was—you know like I'm asking right now, because the music matters, and…”

Their faces remain unchanged. Izuru’s glare is especially deadly. “And you don't believe me do you?”

Kensuke looks pained. “Not quite, Senpai.” He says. His eyes are beseeching, _don't tell me what I think this means_ , they say. The expression is mirrored across the the club.

Which is nice and all. But Ritsu still has his priorities.

“Just tell me what you thought of it,” he says, deflating, burying his head in his arms. His heart, forever slow at reading memos, continues to beat a mile a minute. “I worked really hard.”

**Author's Note:**

> [ for more shitposting, join our caligula server](https://discord.gg/eYz8RBR)


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